Kirk Hammett: “My Number-One Advice for Musicians”

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett was recently interviewed by Brazilian radio station 89FM. The wide-ranging talk included discussions about the group’s latest album, Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, and their work with Lady Gaga and Lou Reed.

Hammett answered the interviewer’s question about the most important he advice he would give a band that has yet to be discovered.

“It’s important to be original and have something different to offer,” Hammett says. “It’s really important to be able to come up with something that’s interesting and stands out.

“There’s a lot of bands out there, there’s a lot of music out there—you know, I’ll go out on a limb—a lot of it sounds similar. If you really, really want to be successful, you have to find a sound that’s unique, and a sound that you feel comfortable with so that you can let it grow inside of you.

“That’s, I think, the best sort of information I can really give, is to just be original. Try to have original thoughts.

“It’s okay to be inspired, it’s okay to be moved by other types of music and art, but it’s really important to aspire to something different that hasn’t been done.

“It might sound overwhelming, but that’s how new things get discovered. You gotta take the first steps.”

Hammett recalls that Metallica’s extreme sound was slow to find an audience with the metal community at first.

“When [Metallica’s debut album] Kill ’Em All first came out [in 1983], we were the odd guys on the block. No one wanted anything to do with us. Literally. We were like pariahs, we were like lepers. No one wanted anything to do with us. People would hear we were coming, and if they weren’t fans, they would turn around and just run the other way.

“But, you know, eventually, people came to understand us and understood that what we were doing was different and new, and we had something else to offer.”

He concluded: “My point is, come up with something different. Use some different colors, different techniques, use just a different approach. It will be interesting!”